A/N: Hey everyone out there! Okay so this story mainly revolves around Riley and Bodhi back in the Here & Now, and how they're attempting to recover from their past adventure. Picks up after the fourth book Whisper (by Alyson Noel if you didn't know). Considering Noel decided to momentarily abandon these stories to work on another series, and breaking my heart by doing so, I clearly felt the urge to respond by making my own! Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Yes I am sixteen years old and yes I adore this "pre-teen" series... Holla.

Riley

Chapter 1: Soul Work

You'd think coming back home after such a huge adventure would be dull with nothing to do – but boy is that so wrong. Apparently a large part of this whole after life deal means doing things I want to do. You know, like soul-work (as everyone around here calls it). I'd been so jam-packed in the past few weeks, I've never been happier I'm dead and therefore my body cannot get exhausted. As soon as we returned from Rome and everyone went their separate ways, Aurora summoned me to speak to her personally.

"Do you feel any different?" She asked, glancing at me from the corner of her eye as we walked. We were in what looked like a small coastal village. Complete with fishing boats, seafood restaurants, and novelty shops full of sea shells and basically anything involving marine life. I was so caught up in the serene atmosphere I almost missed her question completely.

"I do. I don't know how… but I do. Does that make sense?" Great, now I just sound like a ditz.

"No, no. I understand." She smiles and leads me to a two person table outside of a little coffee shop with a small, hand-painted sign that read Anchors Away! Café.

"So why don't I understand how I feel?"

"Well, think about every birthday you've had in the past on the Earth plane. Did you feel some grand, or heck, even a slight change at any point of that day?"

"No, I guess not." I hate talking about my life back among the living. Despite having been here for some time, I still miss it so much it hurts. And that's coming from someone who can't even feel pain any more.

"You'll feel it gradually, sweetheart. One day you'll wake up and realize you aren't the same person you have been. And that's okay, that's life. And despite popular belief, that's afterlife too."

"I finally get why you're so high up in this place," I mutter. Aurora laughs, releasing that genuine, tinkling laugh that could legitimately make angels cry.

"Now go. It's time to start enjoying your afterlife. Despite what you think, we're not always going to put you to work."

I shook my head. "But what do I do? Just sit around? And when do I start working again?" Now I'm just worried. Do I just get set loose on my own in this place? Last time that happened I nearly shut down a place capable of bending dreams…

"Riley," She announced sternly, interrupting my thoughts.

I hate that everyone around here knows what I'm thinking yet here I am, in the dark.

"Do whatever you want; whatever your soul wants. Go for a walk, design a house, or maybe even meet new people... Anything you desire. Life is still yours to take, and I'm here to remind you of that."

Then, just like everyone else in this freaking place, she disappears into thin air. Swell. Now I'm officially on my own. Where do I even begin? I have no idea what my soul wants! Maybe something to do with dogs, considering my best friend happens to be one since I died. Or magazines… maybe I could make my own. Or I could help the other newcomers; give them tricks and tips so they don't have to be kept in the dark like I am. Hey, this isn't so hard… Perhaps I could spend some time with my, er, boyfriend. I mean I guess that's what he is to me. I wonder where he ran off to. As I wandered around the main street of the small, ocean-front plaza, my thoughts began to drift back to the coliseum. I am still in shock that I was selfless enough to give away my soul catch to – at the time – my enemy. Look at me go, being all mature.

Ugh, mature… as if. I sighed. I mean, of course I'm happy to carry my shiny new title of thirteen-and-a-half, but boy oh boy do I miss my manifested self. I was so glamorous and captivating even I couldn't keep my eyes off myself. Heck, even Bodhi couldn't- Oh jeez. I almost forgot about that, about him. How am I expected to recover from that?! I mean you can't just look at a girl like that, tell her she took your breath away, then run right back to your hot-stuff, teenage girlfriend as if nothing ever happened. I guess I have Dacian, anyway. He's just as cute – okay maybe almost as cute as Bodhi. All right that's it, I need to get out of my head or else I'm going to lose it and keep thinking about things, and people, I really would rather not. The sun had already begun to set, so I figured I should probably go find Dacian.